Propeller for automobile-sleighs.



M. A. J. DE LA BESSE.

PROPELLER FOR AUTOMOBILE SLEIGHS. APPLICATION FILED MAR.7,1911.

Patented July 9, 1912.

WITNESSES,

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH c0.,-wAsmNGTON, D. c.

UNTT STATS; PAET FT@E.

MARIE ANTOINE JEAN DE LA BESSE, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

PROPELLER FOR AUTOMOBILE-SLEIGHS.

Application filed March 7, 1911.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, MARIE ANTOINE JEAN DE LABnssn, citizen of the Republic of France, residing at 4: Avenue Percier,Paris, France, have invented new and useful Improvements in Propellersfor Automobile- Sleighs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention consists in an improvement in the means of suspending thepropulsion devices in mechanically propelled vehicles. This improvementapplies more particularly to automobiles, which being intended to bedrawn over snow or ice are mounted on runners and propelled by toothedor grooved wheels or by ordinary wheels of any kind furnished withdevices suitable for giving the wheels a suflicient support for enablingthem to perform their propelling action on snowy or icy ground.

The difliculty of propelling automobiles mounted on runners is owing tothe fact that the propelling devices not being likewise the bearingdevices, the adhesion of the propelling devices is liable to extremevaria tions, in certain cases it is insuffioient, while in other casesit causes strain which exceeds the limit of resistance of thepropellers, causing a sudden stopping of the vehicle and considerablyincreasing the resistance to the forward movement.

If the propellers are loaded so as to give them a fixed degree ofadhesion on horizontal ground, by suitably regulating the suspensiondevice, it will be observed that the variations in the load andconsequently the variations in the adhesion of the propellers on theback are too great to allow of vehicles being propelled by employing,for the propellers, the suspension devices ordinarily used in automobilecarriages, whatever the initial load for which the suspension device hasbeen regulated. This is due to the fact that snow tracks are veryvariable, such tracks being formed in some cases of soft snow and inothers of ice, with all the intermediate stages of congealed water. Thecrevices, cavities, knolls and rough places are also more numerous sothat there are far more uneven places than are met with on macadamizedroads. And when, for example a propeller of an automobile with runnerssinks in a crevice in the track, it loses the whole or a part of itsload, the vehicle being borne by runners which take support either onthe edges or completely Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. July9,1912.

Serial No. 612,938.

outside of the hole in which the propeller has plunged. The same resultmight be pro duced in case the vehicle were not borne on runners but bytwo pairs of wheels and propelled by a third pair of wheels.

It is evident that if the driver were allowed to regulate at will theload of the suspension device for the propellers, for eX- ample bystretching or slackening the springs of this suspension device by meansof screw gearing that could be operated. by hand as has been alreadyproposed, the desired object would not be attained. The driver cannot infact operate quickly enough to impart to the suspension device thetension corresponding at any moment to the suitable adhesion. Thisprimitive means can only be regarded as an artifice intended for puttingthe vehicle in a position to resume running when it has been stopped inconsequence of unevenness of the surface or the nature of the ground.

According to the present invention, the disadvantages and the causes ofaccident indicated are avoided by providing a suspension device whichautomatically insures a uniform pressure or a very slightly variablepressure of the propellers on the ground, these latter encountering theuneven places or places of variable consistency that appear in snowtracks.

This invention consists in providing means for automatically holding thepropeller member against the ground with a constant pressureirrespective of the contour of the ground over which the vehicletravels.

A form of construction of the present invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, in which,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a sleigh with runners, provided withdriving wheels with elastic suspension to which is added the equalizingdevice which forms the sul ject matter of the invention, said suspensionbeing so arranged that it can be differently set by the driver of thesleigh. Fig. 2 is a. plan view.

Under frame A of a sleigh of any desired construction are placed a pairof driving wheels 1, 1 (one driving wheel placed in the middle of thesleigh will answer the purpose), adapted to be driven by the motor whichis situated under hood B in the usual manner. Each of the said drivingwheels is pivoted at mbetween the arms of a fork 2, which isoscillatingly supported at y and which has a bracket 3 connected by achain at to the forward end of a spring 5. The rear end of this springis provided with a chain or cable 6 winding on drum 7, the spindle ofwhich carries a toothed segment 8 engaging with a worm 9, which isadapted to be rotated by a wheel 10 under the control of the driver.Below the chain 4:, and in engagement with its links, is a spur-wheel 11eecentrically mounted on a spindle 2- so as to act for a cam. Instead ofbeing in engagement with spurwheel 11, the chain 4: may be fastened orattached to any point of the pe riphery of said wheel. The axis ofoscillation y of the fork 2, the axis of drum 7 and the axis 2 whichsupports the spurwheel ll are all mounted on supports fixed in anysuitable manner, for instance, below the frame A of the sleigh.

The initial tension of the spring is regulated by the driver, by meansof the wheel 10 and the transmission in engagement therewith, in such amanner that there is produced on the fork 2, and in consequence on thedriving wheel 1, sufficient stress to force the wheel against the groundwith a pressure determined. by the character of the vehicle and theroad, that is, the weight of the wagon, its pressure, the power of themotor, the steepness of the road etc. When the driving wheel 1, which ispressed against the ground with a pressure determined by the tension ofspring 5, strikes a hole of soft snow, it will sink in, while the frameA of the sleigh, supported by the runners, will not change its line. Thecenter of the driving wheel, originally at at, sinks to m, for instance,thus compelling the suspension fork 2 to swing around point y and totake the position, indicated by the dotted line. Under these conditions,chain l becomes loose and spring 5 loses the tension originally given toit. But now chain t, which engages the spur-wheel, compels it to turn onits axis 2 and to take the position indicated by the dotted line,thereby producing a restretching of the spring 5. It will be seen,therefore, that the spurwheel or cam 11 plays the role of an equalizingshackle by virtue of its eccentricity, which is so established that thetension of chain t, or of a perforated band, which is equal to thetension of spring 5, remains constant or nearly so, relatively to thevariations in the position of driving wheel 1, which are produced by theunevenness or the difference in consistency of the ground. It is evidentthat the wheel or cam 11 may be replaced by any other device, servingthe same purpose,

without any inconvenience and without departing from the principle ofthe invention.

1 claim 1. In a motor vehicle, in combination, a body, an armoscillatingly mounted thereon, a propelling member rotatably supportedupon said arm, and automatic means for holding said member against thegroimd with a constant pressure irrespective of the contour of theground traveled over by the vehicle.

2. In a motor vehicle, in combination, a body, an arm oscillatinglymounted thereon, a propelling member rotatably supported upon said arm,automatic means for holding said member against the ground with aconstant pressure irrespective of the contour of the ground traveledover by the vehicle, and manually controlled means for varying thepressure with which said mem ber engages the ground.

3. In a motor vehicle, in combination, a body, an arm oscillatinglymounted thereon, a propelling member rotatably supported upon said arm,a spring operatively connected to said arm and holding said memberagainst the ground, and means for maintaining constant the tension ofsaid spring, whereby the pressure of said member upon the ground will beconstant.

4. In a motor vehicle, in combination, a body, an arm oscillatinglymounted thereon, a propelling member rotatably supported upon said arm,a spring operatively connected to said arm and holding said memberagainst the ground, and a cam device operatively connected with saidspring and adapted to be actuated by the oscillations of said arm tomaintain constant the tension of said spring, whereby the pressure ofsaid member upon the ground will be constant.

5. In a motor vehicle, in combination, a body, a bell crankoscillatingly mounted thereon, a propelling member rotatably mounted onthe free end of one of the arms of said bell crank, a chain having oneof its ends connected to the free end of the other of the arms of saidbell crank, a spring having one end fixed and the other end connected tothe other end of said chain, and a spurwheel eccentrically mountedbeneath said chain and engaging therewith.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

MARIE ANTOINE JEAN DE LA BESSE.

Witnesses DEAN B. MAsoN, MIGUEL FnRoLo.

Washington, D. (3.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patefnts,

